For a moment, only silence flowed amidst the sound of the raging storm outside the house. None of us could figure out what the writings could mean or why it appeared there.
Then, someone slowly opened their mouth, breaking the intense silence.
“…It’s the Ring Wandering phenomenon, Prez.”
Barely gathering his breath, Gyeongwon muttered slowly. The walk through the mud and rain had exhausted him as well as everyone. He took a few deep breaths before starting to explain.
“It’s a mountaineering term, but it refers to a phenomenon where you think you’re going in a straight line at night or in bad weather, however, you’re actually wandering around the same place in a circle.”
“Wandering around in a circle.”
Biting my lip, I closed my eyes and began contemplating.
The legend of Herobrine.
Apparently, the legend was about following the traces of an unknown NPC and wandering around in a circle and returning back to the same place.
If those conditions met properly, we’d reach Hell.
“We… We returned to the same place?”
Dukhun, who barely managed to gather his breathing, asked in a flustered tone.
“We walked so hard!”
“Or, this could be another of those replicated houses.”
Gyeongwon muttered once again with a serious expression, placing his hand on his forehead.
I shook my head and answered.
“….Either way, it’s clear that we’re lost.”
“Uh, what should we do now, Joon?”
Sunah asked with a worried expression.
At the question desperately hoping for an answer, I couldn’t help but close my eyes tightly.
We were trapped in the game world.
The only one who could get us out was Jinhee.
But the flow of time in the game was different from reality. We had no idea when she’d arrive in the internet cafe.
Even if she were to disconnect the connection from outside, there was no telling what kind of impact it would have if we forcefully logged out from a strange space.
It was imperative for us to go back to the original world map before logging out in a safe zone. However, we had already lost our way.
To make matters worse, we have just unknowingly fulfilled the conditions and triggered the ‘Legend of Herobrine’ ghost story.
Although I didn’t know what kind of ghost story it was, something terrible was definitely going to happen now.
All the three ghost stories were intertwined and entangled in the worst possible way.
“I’ve decided. I’m going to kill myself and go back in time.”
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Prez!”
Before the thought of killing myself could proceed further, Gyeongwon hurriedly walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Think about it again. There’s no guarantee that you’ll go back in time even if you die here.”
“….Why?”
“We don’t know what’s happening in the internet cafe in reality right now.”
Gyeongwon stopped for a moment to catch his breath before continuing his explanation with an urgent expression.
“Although we somehow found ourselves inside the game, we have no idea if it’s our real bodies that were sucked into the game or only our consciousness that entered…”
“….That’s true.”
“What if, Prez?”
A bead of cold sweat dropped down his face as he pushed up his glasses.
“What if your real body is in reality in the internet cafe, and it’s your consciousness that is inside the game?”
“Hmm.”
“What if your attempt to kill yourself and die here doesn’t kill your body but only your consciousness? If that were to happen, won’t we, in reality, become vegetative?”
“Listen. I heard that many people who played this illegal version went crazy. What if that’s the result of them dying in the game? Wouldn’t that be dangerous if we recognize that as the system’s death and attempt to turn back time?”
Beads of sweat soaked with rainwater ran down his forehead.
Wiping away the sweat and rainwater from his forehead with trembling hands, Gyeongwon continued his explanation.
“The only times you’ve died so far, Prez, were when you were physically hit or injured heavily in a way. If your consciousness dies, is it possible to go back in time?”
A groan spilled my mouth as I clenched my fists in frustration.
His reasoning was certainly something to ponder deeply about.
“If that were to happen, we would become vegetative for three years. And then three years later, the Demon King will be resurrected… and we’ll go back to the entrance ceremony…”
“Damn it!”
I slammed my hand hard on the wall of the living room where words were written in blood.
An unknown emotion, as if someone was gripping my heart and squeezing it hard, rose from somewhere deep inside.
Fear. Guilt. Terror.
My mind was in a mess at the crisis I brought upon ourselves.
The crisis that I’d never be able to reverse, even if I died.
Before stepping into it, my heart was free from any tremor.
However, now I felt like I was stuck in a mud pit and couldn’t get out.
“Huu, huu.”
Shaking my head, I held my forehead, and leaned against the wall with my other hand.
My heart slowly filling with despair.
It was as if I was staring up at a wall, as tall as a mountain and as thick as a rock.
I thought there would be, should be a way out somehow even if it was dangerous.
And if no way was found, I could just die.
Is this how it is…?
How did things end up like this? What the heck?
“Hey…”
The members approached me with worried faces.
I waved my hands at them, indicating I didn’t need their condolences.
“I’m fine, I’m…”
“Joon…”
“I’m sorry, guys.”
Even looking at them in the eyes was hard for me at that moment. I couldn’t dare face them after putting their lives in jeopardy.
“I thought everything would work out just like it always has. If we continued pushing forward… wouldn’t we find a way out somehow just like before?”
“Even if there was no way… I thought I could continue pushing forward alone by turning back time as many times as possible.”
“But I’m sorry. For dragging you into a strange place like this… in this situation……”
“Joon…”
Sunah approached me hesitantly with a sad expression.
Then, standing next to me, who had his head lowered in shame and guilt, she slowly wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace without saying a word.
“Wait.”
Just at that moment, Hayoon indicated to look out the only window in the living room.
“Someone’s here.”
They are here already?
The members, on whom the atmosphere also took a heavy toll, turned around to look through the window.
Sunah also looked back with an anxious expression.
The grip of her thin arms around my body tightened in fear.
Beyond the window, on the endless vast pasture painted by darkness.
A storm was raging.
Lightning flashed through the sky from where rain was pouring endlessly and wind was blowing fiercely.
Thump, thump, thump.
A silhouette of something wriggling could be seen under the light that momentarily flashed by.
It was as big as a small mound and also quite tall. The silhouette swayed under the pouring rain as it approached quickly.
“….Not good.”
“Damn.”
When the lightning finally stopped, the plain turned dark again.
However, the silhouette was still moving forward quickly.
It was coming our way.
“…Haa.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Soon, the sound of someone running heavily on the ground was heard through the rain.
In an instant, we quickly grabbed our weapons and took a stance.
“Oi, President! Don’t behave like the four-eyes after coming all the way here!”
Wiping the sweats dropping down his forehead, he gripped the poker tightly with both hands.
“Get yourself together! We have no choice but to fight now!”
“Oh, that’s right…!”
Gyeongwon also held the iron bar in his hands tightly and spoke up, his thin form shivering, however.
“Let’s hold on, no matter what! Until Jinhee comes!”
Hayoon also raised her crossbow with a stoic expression and stood guard toward the window.
Sunah looked back at me, who still had a disprited look on his face. Looking at my foul expression, she whispered softly in my ear.
“Joon. I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
As soon as she finished speaking, the heavy footsteps of someone quickly running over were heard. The ground shook heavily at each step.
“…They’re coming!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud-
The thing that was running at full speed from outside jumped with all its might and flew through the window.
Thump-Cang-!
[Let’s see how sturdy this glass made by humans iiiiisssss!!!!!!]
At the heavy weight put against the window, the window immediately broke apart and shards of glass flew everywhere. Wind mixed with rain rushed into the living room.
Thud, thud.
The large figure, which was apparently the fake Dukhun, rolled on the floor along with the shards of glass.
“Hit him! Hit him!”
“Hick!”
Before the bastard could even get up, each of the members struck it down as hard as they could with their weapons.
Thwack, thwack.
Droplets of rain and mud splattered around everytime its large body was hit.
[How dare you hit your cute Senpaaaiii!!!!!!!!!]
“Ahh!”
The fake Oh Dukhun, who was struggling on the floor, suddenly stretched one of its arms forward with a roar and grabbed the iron bar that Gyeongwon was holding.
With the other hand, it grabbed the wooden stick that Sunah had in her hands.
Then it stretched out its hand for the third time and grabbed Hayoon’s ankle, who had her feet raised and was kicking it. Pulling her ankle, it tripped her and then using the last hand, it pushed himself up to its feet.
In the dark we were late to notice but it had four arms.
“Nooo! How dare you imitate me!”
The real Dukhun was enraged by the fact that the fake Dukhun had subdued the other members. In a frenzy, he hit it with a poker.
Thwack- Thwack- Thwack- Thwack-
“Stop talking shit about me!!”
[What’re you doing! I-]
[T/N: Everything the fake Dukhun said was a mixture of Japanese and Korean. So I’ve directly changed them without keeping them in the original terms.]
“What the heck!!”
Oh Dukhun, who used his brute strength to support the lump of flesh that weighed nearly 0.15 tons, struck the body even harder.
“I’ll only cry when I see my coffin oohhhh!!!!!”
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.
Using all the strength of his fatty arms, he struck the thick head of the fake Dukhun a few more times.
Soon, the thing, which was waving its four arms like a cockroach, stopped moving and fell limp.
“Huu, huu, huu.”
“Huff, huff.”
[Joon.]
As we were grasping to catch our breath, the sound of someone calling out to me out the window was heard again.
The members quickly turned around, holding their weapons in their hands.
[I’ve been to places you can’t even imagine. Hell is just a word.]
Kang-!
At that moment, an arrow flew through the air from the crossbow at Hayoon’s hands, creating a cheerful metallic sound.
The arrow flew straight across the living room and hit the fake Hayoon’s forehead.
Puk-
The fake immediately collapsed onto the muddy ground, without even making a sound.
“Hoo, hoo.”
“Huff, huff.”
The members tried to catch their breath.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
However, the sound of someone running through the mud was heard again.
Our heads snapped toward the entrance.
Through the wooden front door with its hinges ripped off, the silhouette of someone running through the wind and rain was seen rushing to us from far away.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“Get ready! Get ready…”
Gyeongwon’s desperate shouts echoed in vain, and the thing that was running at full speed suddenly changed direction.
Before we could comprehend, the thing straight shot to the stairs, climbing to the second floor.
Creak. Thud. Thump.
The sound of someone’s feet stomping, as if they were kicking off the mud, resonated loudly from the ceiling.
“Damn, are they trying to find a hole on the second floor or something…”
“Here it comes! One more!”
When I turned my head again at Dukhun’s shout and looked out the window, I heard a loud noise coming from far away.
A huge lightning bolt flashed and lit up the sky.
It struck the middle of the meadow far away, sending sparks and flame flying even amidst the pounding storm.
At the same time the surrounding lit up with the lightning, countless figures moving through the rain and mud were visible.
There were endless rows of them.
“Get ready.”
Dukhun clenched his teeth and took a stance.
I also pulled out the axe on my waist and held it tightly with both hands.
Hoo, hoo.
“I’ll survive. I’ll definitely survive!”
I muttered to myself, as if encouraging me with a vain hope, ignoring my pounding heart.
[Joon, Joon, Joon….]
[Prez, Prez, Prez…..]
They were coming.
All the members of the Ghost Story Club were coming.
T/N: If you like my work, consider supporting me on Kofi. You can also read advance chapters by supporting me~
